Author interview!

Author interview-

Wow, this is my first ever 'Author interview' and i'm very excited for it. I was lucky enough to interview Simi K. Rao who has just wrote 'An incurable insanity'. The book it self seems extremely interesting as I have never read a book on this subject before.

Blurb-

Her heart fluttered when she heard the sound of the key turn in the lock. She quickly adjusted her maroon silk sari with the yellow border, the one that had caught his eye, and waited eagerly for his footsteps. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven... Yes, exactly seven steps before he stopped, hesitated for a few moments, then removed his shoes one by one and arranged them neatly side by side on the shoe rack. She smiled. He had been mindful of taking his shoes off every day now. "I am not used to it, but I will if you want me to. It's probably a good thing to do anyway." As he settled down, he would pick up the TV remote and, without looking at her, would say in his smooth baritone, "So how did you spend your day, anything interesting?" Shaan Ahuja found himself bowing to tradition and agreeing to an arranged marriage to the beautiful Ruhi Sharma. He went through the motions but had no intention of carrying through on his vows. His last foray into matters of the heart with an American girl had left him scarred and unwilling to try again. Thoroughly disillusioned and disgruntled he wasted no time in making his intentions clear to Ruhi on their wedding night. But, he was completely unprepared for what his new wife had in mind. 

Who is Simi K. Rao?-

Simi K. Rao was born in India and has been living in the United States for several years. Her contemporary romance novel An Incurable Insanity, published by Tate Publishing, was released on October 8, 2013. An Incurable Insanity is her first foray into writing. The inspiration for the story came from what she has seen transpire among and within the immigrant community. Some of the experiences included are her own; some have been garnered from friends and casual conversations with acquaintances. She also writes poetry, is an avid photographer, loves to travel, and is a practicing physician. She currently lives in Denver with her family. 

So, onto the actual interview!!

So Simi, what inspired you to write your book?

I had come across a few incidents of arranged marriages gone wrong in the immigrant Indian community. I wanted to tell a different story where a woman does not compromise with her situation instead forces the hand of destiny. And she does it despite all her shortcomings.

When growing up, did you know you wanted to become an author?

No I always wanted to be a doctor. I became an author almost by accident.

Do you have any tips for aspiring authors?

None really, other than write with passion and develop your own voice.

Are you planning on writing anymore books?

Yes, hopefully by the end of this year.

So this was a very exciting thing for me, I hope you pick up a copy of 'An incurable insanity', I know I will.

You can get the book here (UK)
You can get the book here (USA)

Thanks for reading,

Much love,

Jessie x

Top 6 series of 2013

Top six series of 2013

For this I have chose 6 complete series/trilogies.

1. Percy Jackson and the Olympian's series by Rick Riordan , this consists of 5 books. Basically, it is about the son of Poseidon who is a demi-god, he is called Percy and these books follow him as he grows from a 12 year old to a 16 year old. Add in a few bad Gods and quests and you have yourself a very good series.
2. The Uglies trilogy by Scott Westerfeld , this is about a world where you have an operation to turn yourself from 'ugly' to 'pretty' when you turn 16. This book follows Shay and her adventure, she wants to be pretty but she also sees something 'ugly' about it.
3. The vampire academy series by Richelle Mead. This consists of 6 books. These books follow Rose who is a guardian for a vampire princess called Lissa. What happens when Rose questions authority, when rules are broken and love connections are made? If you like vampires or forbidden love this book is for you.
4. The gone series by Micheal Grant. This book is a dystopian apocalypse type of book. It follows the children of Perrido beach when all the adults dissapear. Main protagonist is Sam but you also get P.O.V'S from different people.
5. The women of the otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong. This is by far my favourite series of the year. Each book is a different persons story but it alternates between around 5 women, all the stories intertwine and all come together for the epic, 13th book finale. If you like ghosts, werewolves, witches etc then you'll love this.
6. The legend trilogy by Marie Lu. Another dystopian read. Involves June and Day, rules and regulations and a bloody good fight. Everyone should read this trilogy, its amazing.

Thanks for reading,

Much love,

Jessie x

24 hour read-a-thon POST update

Post update

I failed....

I read a measly 1 and a half books...

I re-read Along for the ride by Sarah Dessen and started Peter pan by J M Barrie.

I was so excited for this read-a-thon but I think sprint reading the first book put me in a slump:(

Thanks for reading,

Much love,

Jessie x

Book haul!

Book Haul #1

I have such a problem, it's time to confess, I have a book buying issue,

So after getting 23 books for Christmas, I decided to buy another 7 today....

Here's a sneak preview..

So first off I went into WHSmiths as I had a £15 voucher to spend,

all of the kids books were 3 for 2, so naturally I picked up 3, as I was approaching the till I came across a section that had reduced books and there I picked a book up for only £1!!

Here are the books i got...

As you know, I absolutely loved this book, but here's the thing, I read it on my kindle. I decided it was about time to add it to my collection of Sarah Dessen books. This was in the 3 for 2 offer.

I've heard nothing but good things about this book, what initially drew me to this book was the beautiful cover. After reading the synopsis and checking it out on Goodreads I was set to buy it. This was also in the 3 for 2 offer.  

 After reading Tempest and rating it 3 stars, I had no intentions to carry on with the series. But lately my curiosity has been getting the best of me and I now want to carry on with the series and see how it plays out, this book is the second in the trilogy so I am anxious to see what its like, will it have the same second book fate most books have? This was also in the 3 for 2 offer.

This book was a bargain, £1!

As you know from my top ten books from 2013, I really enjoyed a book by Jodi Picoult and ever since then I have been accumulating more books by her. After seeing this for a pound, in very good condition I decided to add it to my ever growing TBR pile.

I then popped into the works.

If you don't know what the works is, it's an extremely cheap book and stationary shop here in England, I like to pop in there as they have a deal '3 for £5' on most books and I often find some proper gems. 

Here are the books I got from the works...

I love Maria V Snyder's work so this was a must buy for me.
It is the second book in the glass series. I picked this up as I already have the first in the series, although I am not that sure whether I have this book already.

 I couldn't believe it when I saw quite a few Abbi Glines books in the offer, I picked up this one as I have the first one already and now I can marathon the duo.

Last but not least, I picked up the second in the blood of eden series by Julie Kagawa, I received the first for Christmas and now I have the second.

What books did you buy this weekend? 

Let me know in the comments:)

Thank you for reading,

Much love,

Jessie x

Friday reads

So it's time for my Friday reads!

I am aiming to finish The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan. 

I have around 295ish pages left to read.

I have made no plans book wise for Saturday and on Sunday I am participating in a 24 hour read-a-thon, you can see what books im reading here: http://aphroditereads.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/24-hour-read-thon-pre-update.html

Thanks for reading,

Much love,

Jessie x

24 Hour Read-a-Thon PRE-Update

24 hour read-a-thon PRE update

I must be mad, in fact I am now officially mad. I have decided to take part in Brianna (bribookishconfessions) 24 hour read-a-thon. Why? I have a lot of time on my hands, i'm off school, have a huge TBR pile and  it seems fun. However, I don't know my plans yet for Sunday so i have kept my pile of books to the minimum and have cheekily involved smaller books.

I am going to try to read at least 7 books. although 2 are novellas. Here's the books and the order im reading them, plus a page count.

1- The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
I thought this would be nice to set the tone of the read-a-thon as it is a well loved book of mine. The pages in this book total to 551, so that starts the page count off nicely.

2- The book of shadows by Cate Tiernan.
This book seems like a fun little read, it is about witches so it should be fun.The book is 176 pages long so that brings the page count to 727.

3- Girl in the mirror by Cecelia Ahern. 
This is a cute little novella to pace my reading. It is only 89 pages long so that brings the page count to 816.

4- Legend by Marie Lu. 
Yet again another re-read.This re-read will prepare me for Prodigy and then Champion.The book is 295 pages long so this brings the page count to 1121.

 5- The demigod files by Rick Riordan
This book is like little novellas that take place around the time of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians.This book is 171 pages long so this brings the page count to 1191

6- Peter Pan by J M Barrie.
This book is only 205 pages long and is also a well loved book of mine.This brings the page count to 1396

7- The coven by Cate Tiernan.
I hope to finish the read-a-thon by reading the next book in the sweep series. This book is 185 pages long so this brings the page count to 1581.

For anymore information on the read-a-thon, visit Brianna's blog here: http://bribookishconfessions.wordpress.com/

I will be posting updates throughout the day on my instagram (Jessiereadsbooks) using the hashtag 24hourreadathon.

You can also tweet updates on twitter using the same hashtag.

For any more query's or if you want to take part, you can contact Brianna on twitter which is @bbookishconfess or on her instagram which is @bribookishconfessions.

Thank you for reading,

Much love,

Jessie x

The moon and more by Sarah Dessen~review

Goodreads synopsis:

Luke is the perfect boyfriend: handsome, kind, fun. He and Emaline have been together all through high school in Colby, the beach town where they both grew up. But now, in the summer before college, Emaline wonders if perfect is good enough.

Enter Theo, a super-ambitious outsider, a New Yorker assisting on a documentary film about a reclusive local artist. Theo's sophisticated, exciting, and, best of all, he thinks Emaline is much too smart for Colby.

Emaline's mostly-absentee father, too, thinks Emaline should have a bigger life, and he's convinced that an Ivy League education is the only route to realizing her potential. Emaline is attracted to the bright future that Theo and her father promise. But she also clings to the deep roots of her loving mother, stepfather, and sisters. Can she ignore the pull of the happily familiar world of Colby?

Emaline wants the moon and more, but how can she balance where she comes from with where she's going?

Sarah Dessen's devoted fans will welcome this story of romance, yearning, and, finally, empowerment. It could only happen in the summer

My review:

Meet Emmaline,the perfect girlfriend and daughter. She lives in a little beach resort and practically knows everyone who inhabits it.

This summer is her last summer at home before college so she plans to make it a big fun summer with her best friends daisy and Morris and her perfect boyfriend luke.

Suddenly, Luke cheats on Emmaline and she gets with a guy called Theo, could this summer be fun? 

She has daddy issues,her dad hasn't been a dad to her and up until recently,she had only met him the once. So when her dad moves to Colby for the summer with her little brother Benji,will she be along for the ride? This summer could give her the moon and more.

This book was ok, it was a typical Sarah Dessen novel, a girl trying to find out who she is. I really liked Morris, he was hilarious.

I think I loved this book because it was set in Colby and featured Clyde. The constant references to places like clementines, abes bike shop and tallyhos made me giddy and in a few chapters we would hear from characters in along for the ride. As along for the ride is one of my favourite books I loved the fact this book was set in Colby and featured Clyde.

I wouldn't hesitate to re read this book

stars: 4/5

thank you for reading,

much love,

Jessie x